It’s true that gravy boats are an essential Thanksgiving serving piece, but why let these beautiful pieces gather dust in your china cabinet the other 364 days of the year? Our favorite gravy boats are too pretty to hide away…and they aren’t just for gravy. With a little creativity and our easy tips, you’ll be using your gravy boat all year round.
Whether you’re serving a sit-down meal or eating buffet-style, gravy boats are the most elegant way to serve sauces, salad dressings, and syrups. Presented in a beautiful china gravy boat rather than a plastic bottle, salad dressing looks and tastes better. We also use our gravy boat to drizzle chocolate sauce or caramel over desserts, ice cream or fresh fruit or warm pasta sauce over dinner entrées.
But gravy boats are also fun when they are unexpected, like at breakfast. Entertaining at breakfast is relatively low stress. Even a poor cook can make delicious waffles and pancakes, and it’s easier than you think to make homemade fruit syrups using fresh or frozen berries. We whip up Nigella Lawson’s blueberry syrup recipe in less than five minutes, but it tastes delish and wows our guests! Serve your waffles alongside fresh fruit and a side of bacon or sausage for a complete meal.
For a twist on traditional flower arrangements, use your gravy boat as a vase. With florist foam or a floral frog like the Perfect Arranger, you can make a professional-looking floral arrangement in less than 10 minutes.
Since the gravy boat is small, you won’t need that many flowers to make an impressive arrangement. We used two dozen mini yellow roses and a handful of fall wildflowers to make the two floral arrangements pictured here.
A gravy boat centerpiece is perfect for a small kitchen table, but we use ours throughout the house to add a welcoming touch on a nightstand in our guest room and a bit of color to a bathroom vanity. You’ll find that gravy boats are just the right size to make an impact without taking up a lot of space.
If you’re still looking for the perfect gravy boat for your holiday dinners, here are some of our favorites:
